Door



v M. E, CRUME June 6, 1933.

DOOR

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 24, 1951 M. E. CRUME June 6, 1933.

DOOR

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1931 Patented June 6, 1933 a MARSHALLnoon j Appiicatiqn med new `24,

u door frame and of suehstructiire, improvements and arrangement ofparts that a Well balanced and easily` operated door results. AnotherObjectis to provide a door which in itself is a complete unfitand onethat due to its structure is absolutely isagle'ss since thecountervveight `carries the Weight "of the sectionsin all positionsWithoutany Astrain on the hingesfand one in which installation iscom"parativelysimple.` Aiu'rtheuobject of"` this invention is to providea door in 'Whichthle carrier jplate's A are so designed an'dmounted thatthe bottom section' is prevented 'from r'attlingor moving-loaekand'forthafter `the doorhas been closed@ l" l" A e i i Referring to theaccompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof and ,onvvliic'hsimilar reference characters indicate similarparts, y'

`Figure 1 `isa vieWin-elevation of the ini side of the door in closedposition with portions broken avvay to show details, Figure 2, a Viewiir elevation ofA a portion oi" the door in closed position showing adetail 4oit the "upper and lower carrier plates", 'guide elements,-rubber bumper,hinge,

A a. a sectionofthe cable and the' 4closing' plate, "35

` "Figurel', a perspectivevievvfof tl'ie"-poition shown in FigureQ", butin lpartialopened position," f

Figure 2 showing the detailsof theicariier plates,

4 igure`5, averticalsection Jofthe opeiatl PATENT orf-FICE n. GRUME, orPneu, 1i\Ii' IANA,fAssreNon` To `iurixnrrMANUrAo'runrNef i f COMPANY, oFi PERU, i INDIANA,

A; CORPORATION OF INDIANA;`

193i. "ser'i'alLNa 5465,653, y

14." A"The intermediateor middle section 15 is secured to section 13 byhinges 16` on the outsidefface of the door.` `The Vbottom section'l? issecured tothe middle section by hingesl" on'the insideV of the door. uAu interchangeable hollow upright Vcolumn 1'1"; may befsecured tooneside ortheotlier'i'or housing the'counterbalancing mechanism"- and itslocation depends on the particular v installation.

The Vsides 10 andll 'are provided with' flat plates 18 and 1 9 secured'byra'ny suitable means to their edges 'and "which 'serves as guidechannels for the `folding sections of the door;` Theo'uter plates 19 areof a Width substantially greater than the insideplates 18 'and 'extendWellbver the edges of the sectionsand insure a tight fit even if thereare'slight variationsiri setting th-edoor' in placel" j l" `Oppositethe" lower'fliingesll" the sides' of the.` sections' 15 and' 17 areprovided with cut-out portions. Carrier plates 20`and' 21 aresecuredflush with the edgesol'thesections and 'areU provided `:withafiangefQO andQl respectively embeddedfin the inner `faceoftherespective sections. "The inner ends e of the carrier plates 'projectover' the out-out portion` and are provided'A Withinwardly extendingspring-pressed `pins 22 and 23 in contact-With the face of the 'cutoutportions of the sections;` VOpposite the pin 23` on the middlesectionandl projecti ing outwardly, ya stub shaft 262hav'ing aiballffbearingA roller 27' is mounted and is Jfurther providedvvith afslot 28With rtnindededges.`

The pin"22 and the stubsliaft'iQll oii the bottom section are slightlydisplaced in-` Wardly with respect'tothecenter 'line of the shaft 26 fora purpose which will' later appear.V lThe `shaft 2li-also' has'afball-bearing roller '25 mounted on its endand is 'further providedwith" a "collar 29 on its" body 'for attaching a'cable-thereto.

`A' single ,pflley 30 is secnredat one end of "the" horizontal beam12"andfa like pulley 3,1 at" the other end.` VA larger' pulleyfBQ issecured.' adjacent they end of the pulley 31 but'slightly' displacedther'efroln.'`

l"Gables and 34'are connected to tliecol'- lars 29 on the stub shafts24, extending upwardly through the slots 28 over the pulleys 30 and 31respectively. The edges of the slots 28 are rounded in order to permitfree movement of the cables and prevent binding regardless of theposition of the door sections in order to insure a free operatingaction. The cable 33 extends along the horizontal beam 12 and overpulley 32. The free ends of the cables are secured to an equalizing bar35whichis pivoted at its Y center to an operating handle 36 and a seriesof plates k37. The plates serve as a counter-balance for the door andare housed in the column 1l. The plates 37 may be varied in numberaccording to the Weight necessary for the counterbalance which dependson the weight of the door. The outer plates are provided with rollers 38to insure free movement and prevent binding of the counterbalance in itstravel. A slot 39 is provided in the column 11 from which the handle 36projects and slides as the door is operated.

In order to completely seal the door from outside elements and for theneat appearance of the door, angle closing plates 40 are provided..These plates consist of two flanges at right angles to each other, Theupper portion of the flange parallel to the door facing is provided witha slot 41 adapted to be secured beneath the spring-pressed pin 23. Theother pin 22 is adapted to frictionally engage this flange at its otherend. The other flange completely covers the cut-out portions and restsagainst the channel plates 19 and slides under the pin 23 as the door isoperated.

Therdoor may be locked by mechanism mounted to be operable from eitherside comprising a casing 42 provided with a rotatable disk 43 mounted inits face having a hand grip 44 secured to the outside thereof and aninwardly projecting plate 45 on the other side and of sufficient lengthto be engaged by a similar hand grip 58 on the other side of the door. Apair ofoperating plates 46 is mounted inthe casing and is provided withtabs 47 which project from the sides of the casing through suitableopenings. The plates 46 are further provided with flanges 48 resting oneach side of the plate 45. A rod 49. projects through the flanges 48 andthe plate 45 and is keyed at 50 to each side of the casing. Springs 51are mounted between the flanges 48 and the sides of the. casing forholding the flanges 48 against theprojecting plates 45.

Attached to the tabs 47 are rods 52 which extend to the spring-pressedplunger latches 53 andare properly tensioned by the couplings 54. A lock55 is secured to the lower side of the casing 42 and is provided with aplunger 5.6 which engages the slots 57 in the operating plates 46 tolock them in fixed position. It will be noted that by turning the handleeither to the right or left the rods will be actuated.

The plungers 53 engage suitable catches 59 mounted on the sides of thedoor for holding the sections in place. Small rubber bumpers 60 may besecured on the sections to prevent injury to the sections or the lockingmechanism as the door sections are folded together.

The operation of the door is as follows:

Considering the door is in closed position as shown in Figure 1, bysimply grasping the handle on either side and turning it in eitherdirection, the plungers 53 are released from the catches 59 and byslight pull on the handle the door sections will break and being of suchconstruction and so well balanced the door is easily raised to open orfolded position with little effort on the part of the operator.

It will be noted that the handle 36 on the counterbalance is now inlowered position. To close the door the operator simply raises thishandle and the sections unfold. As the bottom section nears its finalposition, the rollers on the stub shafts 24 tend to press against theinner plates 18 of the channel guides and the rollers 27 against theplate 19 of the channel guide thereby binding the bottom section infixed position which prevents swinging or rattling of this section, asis usually the case in doors of otherv constructions. This particularfeature is accomplished by having the lower shaft 24 slightly displacedinwardly with respect to the line of center of shaft 26. As the doorreaches its final position the latches snap into position. Y

In closing or opening the door the closinor plates 40 slide alon theouter channel plates 19 and are hefd in position by the action of thespring pressed pins in their travel. Y From the foregoing it will beseen that my door is simple in structure, easily assembled and withparts interchangeable to suit particular installations and a door thatrequires scarcely any effort on the part of the operator and above all awell constructed door suitable for varied purposes and with specialfeatures not found in doors as vheretofore constructed.

It may be observed that with two cables there is also little or nodanger of injury should one cable break since the other cable is ofVsufficient strength to hold the sections in any position.

It will be obvious to l'those skilled in the art that various changesmay be made in my device without departing from the spirit of theinvention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in thedrawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated bythe appended claims.

Having thus full described my `said inn vention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is p 1. The combination with afolding door formed of'a plurality of sections hinged together, ofplates forming guide channels mounted on each side ofthe door, the outerplate being of a width suliicient to extend over the edge of thesections to form a tight it, guide elements mounted on the edges ofv thebottom and intermediate sections on each side of the hinged joint andextending into said channels, the guide element on the bottom sectionbeing displaced inwardly with respect to the guide element on theinter-V mediate section and adapted to press against the inner platewhen Vthe door is in closed position thereby preventing swinging of thebottom section of said door, substantially as set forth. Y

2. In a` folding door comprising a frame, a plurality of sections hingedtogether, the

upper section being hinged to the top of Veo said frame and the lowersections being provided with cut-out portions on the edge adwardlyprojecting pins and outwardly p rojecting guide elements, said pinsresiliently engaging said cut-out portions and an angled plate havingone flange extending over the opening formed by the cut-out portions forclosing the same mounted beneath said pins, substantially as set forth.

3. In a folding door comprising a frame, a plurality of sections hingedtogether, the upper section being hinged to the top of said frame, thebottom and intermediate sections provided with cut-out portions on theedges thereof adjacent the hinged connection, plates secured to theedges of said sections provided with outwardly projecting guides andinwardly projecting pins, angled plates pivotally secured at oneend bythe pins on the intermediate sections and slidably secured under thepins on the bottom section for covering the opening formed by thecut-out edges and a system of weighted cables and pul eys forcounterbalancing said door fixed to said guides, substantially as setforth.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at Washington,D. C., this 17th day of June, A. I). nineteen hundred and thirty-one. jMARSHALL E. CRUME..4

jacent the hinged joint, plates secured to A the edges of saidsections-provided with in-

